PRESS RELEASE
In an Australian first, SBS has secured the international streaming rights for the SBS 2 broadcast of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2014 on Sunday March 2 at 8.30pm.
Mardi Gras is one of the world’s largest LGBTQI events which celebrates a universal message of diversity and equal rights. SBS is thrilled to be able to make this broadcast available to international audiences via SBS ON DEMAND at the same time it broadcasts in Australia on SBS 2.
SBS’s purpose is to explore, appreciate and celebrate diversity and tell unique Australian stories that contribute to a cohesive society. This online streaming presents an opportunity to share the story of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on a global scale.
The exclusive broadcast will take the Mardi Gras conversation far beyond Oxford Street and Australia, with tweets and Facebook messages displayed on screen throughout the television and online broadcasts, using the official event hashtag #sydneymardigras.
SBS Chief Digital Officer Marshall Heald said:
“Social TV continues to shape the way audiences engage with and consume content. SBS prides itself on creating bold event television and we are excited to extend our social TV offering to international audiences to join in the conversation.
SBS has a strong track record of creating immersive social experiences for our audiences with the SBS Eurovision broadcast last year trending worldwide. To expand the Mardi Gras conversation to an international audience is a milestone for the network that will allow more people than ever before the opportunity to interact directly with this unique major national event.”
In celebration of this year’s iconic festival, the SBS Mardi Gras broadcast is part of an extensive season of LGBTQI programming across SBS 2, and SBS Subscription channels World Movies and STUDIO.
SBS 2’s flagship news and current affairs program The Feed will cover a Mardi Gras focussed story each week. SBS 2 will also feature a collection of LGBTQI films including Bi-Curious Me, Interior.Leather Bar, Eloise, 3 and Weekend. Saturday nights will continue to remain fierce and feisty with the All Star season of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
On the eve of the most fabulous event on the LGBTQI calendar, SBS Subscription channel World Movies will present two films that celebrate the joys of queer sexuality from 9.30pm on Friday February 28. Discover the depths of dangerous affairs in the award-winning psychological suspense drama Stranger by The Lake, while a hotel room in the centre of Rome serves as the setting for two young and recently acquainted women to have a physical adventure that touches their very souls in Room in Rome. World Movies is available on Foxtel, Channel 430.
For one exclusive night only on Monday March 3, SBS Subscription channel STUDIO will turn pinker and proudly fly the rainbow flag, presenting a series of fabulous music specials by the world’s most talented gay icons including Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Elton John, before a full encore screening of the 2014 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. STUDIO is available on Foxtel, Channel 132.